Finals are over, the holidays are here, so what's the problem with college kids home on winter break?

Many kids, back home for weeks for the first time since they left in August, feel stressed out about winter break, according to Thomas Brounk, a specialist in student anxiety management at Washington University in St. Louis.

Stressors can include dealing with family issues they've been able to avoid at school, experiencing the holidays as a young adult instead of a child and not having enough time or money to do or buy everything they'd like.

Brounk, chief of mental health services at the university, offers these coping tips:

Be yourself
Ask for what you want. Don't make parents, siblings or friends guess at what makes you happy. Speak up: If you're lonely, ask to spend time with someone. If you want to be alone for a while, explain that, too.

Let yourself feel as you do, not how you want to feel. If you feel down, allow yourself to feel down. If you're excited and happy, go ahead and enjoy it. Manipulating your feelings will distance you from yourself.

Renew old patterns, celebrate new ones
Turn obligations into energizers. Update your yearly tasks, such as writing cards, by doing something different. Call someone, write a compliment to a friend and don't feel you have to update everyone on your new life if you don't feel like it.

Make positive contact with others. When you attend a party, focus on having good conversations with a few people. If you're feeling as if you don't have enough social interaction, seek out a friend or reach out to someone in your community, such as an isolated neighbor.

Set priorities and don't overdo it. Make a to-do list and cross out unnecessary activities. Get through unpleasant tasks by doing them as quickly and painlessly as possible, and reward yourself afterward. Keep up activities you enjoy, such as exercise or meeting friends, even if they aren't essential. They will keep you content.